The Belgian government and the government of the Belgian region of Flanders on Friday announced the donation to Mozambique of a further 1,209,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the Covid-19 respiratory disease.
The vaccines are being donated under the Covax initiative, managed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI.
According to a press release from the Belgian Embassy, Belgium donated about 357,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mozambique in October and November 2021. The Mozambican Health Ministry on 9 November accepted the donation of 1,209,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is due to arrive in the country on Friday.
The Embassy promised a further donation of 1,188,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that will arrive some time in the next few weeks. The total number of Johnson & Johnson doses promised is thus about 2.4 million.
The great advantage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that it is administered in a single dose, where AstraZeneca, and most other Covid-19 vaccines require two doses.
The Belgian ambassador to Mozambique, Didier Vanderhasselt, who is resident in South Africa, said “We hope these two donations of J & J vaccines will be a game changer for Mozambique”.
The Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir, said that, in the sharing of vaccines, Belgium has given priority to Mozambique on the basis of a longstanding partnership between the two countries.
Since 2002, Mozambique has also been receiving support from the government of Flanders, particularly in the area of health care.
“Belgium trusts fully in the Mozambican health authorities to guarantee the best possible use of these vaccines”, said the release. “Belgium believes that nobody will be safe in this pandemic until everybody is safe”.
